Protecting sentimental items

• Use lidded boxes or plastic containers and store items at least 10-15 cm off the ground to reduce risk from flooding: never put your valuable books or documents in the basement. 
• Keep valuables away from external walls, they’re more at risk of environmental changes and damage. 
• Secure bookshelves to walls and string wire or bungee cords across each shelf to stop books falling and breaking during an earthquake. 
• Create an inventory of special items and ensure trusted family members know where they can be found. 
• Make a digital copy of valuable documents (e.g. family records) and photographs – but consider where and how this information is safely stored. Computers, phones and USB storage can all be damaged in a disaster. 
• Use the ‘3-2-1 backup strategy’. This is where you create 3 copies of your data and scanned photographs. Store it on 2 different types of media e.g. your computer, the cloud or a hard drive and keep one copy somewhere else (not in your house). 

Safety before things. "Personal safety and the safety of those around you are the most important considerations. Don’t try to rescue your family treasures if there is any danger," McCracken warns. 

Once it's safe to return, make sure your house is structurally stable and there’s no threat from leaking gas or exposed wiring. Be aware that flood water can be full of hazards that could injure you and may also be hiding sewage or other contamination. 

Time is of the essence when it comes to stopping mould damage. "Mould can start growing within 48 hours in damp conditions," McCracken explains. "It's important to lower the humidity and temperature by getting fresh air moving through your home." 

"You need to work quickly and wear the appropriate protection including P2 masks, gloves and goggles.” 

Books, papers and photographs can be frozen to buy you time, allowing you to deal with damaged items in smaller batches when you have the space and time to restore them. Place wet items in sealed plastic bags with greaseproof paper between them, then freeze indefinitely until you're ready to defrost and dry only what you can handle in one day. 

• Using cleaning products: Any domestic cleaners are not good for your treasures. Keep it nice and simple and just use clean water. 
• Being too vigorous with cleaning: Water damaged objects are more vulnerable when they’re still wet or damp. 
• Using heat to dry items: Don't try and dry your damaged items with hair dryers and heaters; they'll cause more damage and actually distort your treasures. Heat can also encourage mould growth too. 
• Don’t put items (especially photographs, films, fabrics, and artworks) in direct sunlight to dry them. 
• Attempting DIY repairs: Don't glue something back together or use tape (it can cause far more damage). Get professional help. 
• Not keeping separate cleaning areas: Keep the books you've cleaned separate from those that are dirty, because the last thing you want is to constantly have to re-clean. 

Books 

It’s important to prioritise which books to save, for you it might be your whakapapa book, family bible or a special childhood favourite. 

"In my household, I've got hundreds of books. In an emergency, I may not be able to save hundreds of books, so I've really got to think about which books are the most important to me," McCracken said. 

• Remove dust jackets and dry separately. 

• If it's dry, gently brush it clean. If it's wet and dirty you can rinse it in cold water. 

• Hold the book tightly at the fore-edge (the page edges opposite to the spine) and gently wash with clean water 

• Stand books upright to air dry, fanning out the pages and put paper towels in between each page, replacing the towels as they become damp. 

• Books contaminated with sewage should be thrown away; they're hazardous to health. 

Photographs 

"Take a digital photo before you start any work," McCraken said. "It's quite important in disaster processing to record, record, record." 

• If it's in a frame and wet, carefully remove it then take it out. If it’s stuck to the glass your best option is to leave it in there and dry it face down so it doesn’t peel away from the glass and scan it later. 

• For single photographs that have been affected by flood waters, you can gently clean them by immersing them in a shallow bath of cool, clean water (a clean tin foil roasting dish can work well). Have several trays. The first will clean the bulk of the dirt and then swish them in each remaining tray which should have progressively cleaner water. 

• So they don’t become more damaged support your photographs from underneath with something as you wash them eg. a clean plastic tray or ice-cream container lid. 

• Air dry the photographs flat, facing up on clean paper towels or hang them with clothes pegs at corners. 

• If dry, use soft brushes to gently remove dirt, always brushing in the same direction. 

• Never use heaters, hair dryers or direct sunlight for drying. 

Textiles 

McCracken said clothing and textiles can be damaged by water, silt, soot, sewage and chemicals used in firefighting and they can become very fragile. 

For clothing, fabric, woven fibres, carpet and upholstery items: 

• Rinse gently in clean water, be careful you don't force or stretch. 

• Support wet textiles when lifting as they become heavier and more fragile - use trays, plywood or anything strong and flat. 

• Dry flat away from direct sunlight. 

• Be aware that dyes might run or wet fabrics could absorb colour from what they are placed on to dry. 

• For dry items, just gently shake off dirt. 

Taonga Māori 

For items with feathers or other traditional materials, McCracken suggests the same gentle cleaning approach if you feel confident but seek specialist conservation advice for items if you are at all unsure. "What we're talking about here is ‘first aid’, then you would need to think about long-term conservation."